


Stupid in Love

by Maluucious



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Background Relationships, Comedy, Eric is a mess, Feel-good, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jock Juyeon, Jokes, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Lee Felix/Seo Changbin, One Shot, One of My Favorites, Romantic Comedy, minor hyuncob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 05:34:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26468026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maluucious/pseuds/Maluucious
Summary: "Why is it so important for you to hide that you have a crush on Juyeon, by the way?""Because he is a baby, or a coward,' Changmin playfully snorted. The blonde hit him in the shoulder with a soft fist, falsely outraged."I hate you, Ji Changmin.""Why? I'm so lovely, ask Sunwoo."ORHow Eric broke into the school at night to avoid confessing to Juyeon... little did he knew the opposite would happen.
Relationships: Ji Changmin | Q/Kim Sunwoo, Lee Juyeon/Son Youngjae | Eric
Comments: 19
Kudos: 154





	Stupid in Love

**Author's Note:**

> Always here to greet you! 
> 
> Hope you're having a nice day/evening! This time, I'm back with a longer juric, because it's been so long...  
> @ Luminee loves them so much, I had to do something and I was in a playful mood! 
> 
> It changes a bit from what I'm used to writing, so I hope you'll like it!! Have fun, take some tea and see you after all of this <3 
> 
> Love y'all <3

"I don't like saying, 'I told you so', but-"

"The hell you don't, it's your favorite phrase." Eric snorted when he heard Changmin behind him. The older was looking at him with his arm crossed, watching him with the same poker face he usually wore.

Standing in the dark corridor, the blonde pouted, focused on finding a solution. The pliers he had tried to use had decided to dramatically break up with itself, one part sulking in the lock of the door, while the other stood strong in his hand.

"You look so dumb now, I'm curious how you're going to get out of this," Changmin scoffed. "You should have just been honest with your teacher and tell him it was a joke from Felix."

"In theory, they aren't my teacher, you didn't listen to me! Mine is coming back on Monday and that's why I need to charge the right presentation."

His cap slightly hiding his eyes, Changmin raised an eyebrow.

"And how are you gonna do, now that you've just broken the door, Einstein?"

Eric stuck out his tongue. With his dark beanie covering his head, thin blonde locks coming out of it to fall on his face, and his dark outfit, he looked like someone who had watched way too much 'True Crime' episodes. In reality, even if he was roasting him now, Changmin had snorted when the younger had decided to break into his teacher's office at night to change a flash drive, but he had been the one giving him all the tricks. At least the one that worked because, now, Eric had broken a lock.

"I may have an idea." A deep voice made them turn their heads to look at Sunwoo, who had accompanied his boyfriend to save Eric's unlucky ass. He was smiling and Eric remembered that he should never ever trust Felix again.

*

"If it wasn't totally unethical, I would definitely blackmail you with this."

"Because you're a shining beacon of ethics, right?"

"Obviously."

"Take the mickey out of me!"

Changmin snorted, not leaving his phone as he was filming them. Sunwoo was trying to help Eric who was currently struggling to climb the window of the first floor, a bit too high for him. When his boyfriend had come to say he had an idea, the older hadn't imagined they would end up outside the college's building at nearly midnight, with his friends trying to break into a classroom by the window.

"Smile for the camera, dumbasses," he joked before smiling at Sunwoo who glared at him, "Excuse me, I meant the dumbass who is breaking into the school instead of admitting his crush and my favorite idiot who I'm totally committed to."

Sunwoo chuckled and he proudly smiled at him. When they heard a huge noise, meaning Eric had certainly fallen on the ground with a table or a few chairs, the red-haired raised an eyebrow towards the sound, before focusing on the video Changmin was showing him.

"This is sad, he's dead," Sunwoo dramatically sighed.

"I'm okay, thanks for worrying!"

Eric's shout made them both burst out of laughter.

"Hurry up before the night watchman arrive!" Changmin complained with a pout. "Or you can stay and I film that for your graduation day."

Eric's head reappeared a few minutes after, the boy pouting, his fist closed on a small object. He tried to jump after using a table to climb back and Changmin narrowly caught him to avoid a hard fall.

"Did you get it?"

"I think so!" Eric's face lighted up, showing a small USB stick in his palm, his eyes sparkling with a relieved shimmer.

Changmin helped him to get up, putting his phone back into his pocket, not failing to congratulate him for his dumb plan which finally seemed to work out. Beside them, Sunwoo followed on their heels. When they arrived near the empty soccer pitch, far enough from the buildings, making their way towards the oldest's car, the red-haired finally spoke, his voice hoarse from tiredness.

"Why is it so important for you to hide that you have a crush on Juyeon, by the way?"

"Because he is a baby, or a coward,' Changmin playfully snorted. The blonde hit him in the shoulder with a soft fist, falsely outraged.

"I hate you, Ji Changmin."

"Why? I'm so lovely, ask Sunwoo."

Amused behind them, the red-haired nodded, getting an annoyed sigh from his friend.

"Obviously he is going to defend you, he isn't impartial! I'm only his best friend when he is in love with you!"

"Just like you are with Juyeon?" Eric smashed his friend's shoulder who burst out into laughter, running towards Changmin's car, followed by the blonde who playfully cursed at him, all under the entertained stare of the eldest.

*

Lying on the ground of Changmin's living room, where his friend had placed a mattress for him, Eric's face was lightened up by the screen of his phone. Not minding his wet hair, his brows furrowed, he was furiously typing on the small engine. Soon after coming back from their little expedition that would surely be reminded to him for a few years, the couple had left to fall into the arms of Morpheus.

On their way back, the older had complained about being too sober to hear him explain again why it was better to break into the school than letting Felix, his and Sunwoo's classmate and friend, help him confess. Eric had raised an eyebrow, pouting over the fact Changmin had cheered on him when he went to him with his plan.

_"Obviously I have, do you imagine how much this video will cost? Especially when you'll date Juyeon, I'll sell it to him for a good price!"_

Now, the blonde was trying not to kill one of his friends by text. Felix was still awake, which wasn't surprising considering he usually spent the weekend at his boyfriend's place, and still laughing at Eric's explanation of how he broke a door and how he literally committed a crime. Though it seemed to be a dramatic reaction, he couldn't suppress the shiver of horror when he remembered the presentation full of Eric's texts crying over Juyeon he had embellished with hearts and GIFs, giving the USB stick instead of the blonde's presentation.

**_FELIX_ **

_Someone needs to do God's work, Eric. You'll thank me later._

**_ERIC_ **

_I'd rather be pecked to death by a flock of hummingbirds than thanking you, bro._

**_FELIX_ **

_Aw, I love you too. On a scale from one to ten, how bad do you want to kill me right now?_

**_ERIC_ **

_Somewhere in the high nineties._

He sighed, leaving his phone on the side. He had saved himself from a disaster but wasn't ready for his friends' next moves. Normally, he wouldn't have to worry about being a coward but, obviously, he had to fall for the biggest straight jock of the whole school. How lucky he was.

He had met Juyeon when he had accompanied Sunwoo to the trials of the soccer team, right when he entered college. He, the loud gay boy from a small town, had fallen like an idiot for the perfect boy who had it all. From the popularity to the grades, Juyeon was this type of annoying person who was good in nearly anything he had tried, kind, humble and so handsome that he could have made everyone fall for him without noticing. Noticing the blonde hadn't tried like his friend, the black-haired boy had kindly thrown a ball at him, smiling at the quick reflexes of Eric.

_"You ain't trying?"_

_Eric had shaken his head, his cheeks burning from shyness. He wasn't usually the reserved type but he felt too shy under the dark gaze._

_"I prefer basketball to soccer." He had answered, making Juyeon chuckle._

_"Oh, I see. We should play, one day!"_

From that day, facing the most beautiful boy he had ever seen, hearing the soft laugh, he had known it was over for him. He was screwed.

Now, a year had passed since he had met him, yet nothing happened. Not that Eric's friends hadn't tried to help, but they were the worst, despite nearly being all taken, which left the blonde wondering how they had gotten a great love life. He knew Sunwoo had always been head over heels for Changmin, a sarcastic boy in Juyeon's course, but he had never gotten them to tell him how they had started dating. Felix was definitely not an option to help him, not when he got himself a boyfriend by going on the stage at the college festival to ask the " _cute boy with a Snorlax plushy_ " to meet him after, not when he had prepared a whole PowerPoint of how gay Eric was for Juyeon.

The thing was that everyone knew Juyeon was straight. They had seen him with his past girlfriend once and a lot of rumors were rife, much to Eric despair. At least the jock wasn't some type of the homophobic prick that had tried to bully him in high school as he seemed like the biggest supporter of his best friend's relationship with an exchanged student. No, Juyeon was a good person, which didn't help Eric's crush. With a sigh, the boy tried to close his eyes, but a small laugh left his lips when his thoughts vanished into the silence of the room, leaving him thinking about their adventure on that night. Relieved of having destroyed his friend's plan, he let himself relax.

*

On Sunday night, Changmin and Sunwoo were comfortably sitting in the living room, the red-haired working on his laptop while the older watched a thriller, his arm over his shoulder when someone pounded on the door. The younger jumped in surprise, already tensed by his boyfriend's movie. Groaning, Changmin paused the TV to open to a pale Eric who stormed into the apartment.

"I'm screwed."

"Hi Eric, how are you? Fine, and you?"

"Changmin…" the blonde put his hands over the older shoulder with a painful sigh. "I can't live anymore."

Behind them, Sunwoo raised an eyebrow and closed his laptop.

"Oh, so you're finally asking for my help?" Changmin snorted.

"Please."

He patted Eric's head softly.

"I apologize in advance for the inconvenience this murder is going to have on your life. It's been nice knowing you."

"Instead of being cryptic and dramatic like you love to be," Sunwoo intervene with a laugh, "Explain to us what happened."

Eric let Changmin keep on playing with his hair as he looked over at his friend, despair in his eyes. He gulped, the couple having their full attention on him.

"You know, I've been nervous for all the weekend because I was scared of a new plan coming from any of you, so I ended up looking at the file Felix wanted to leak out. It's so embarrassing, I can't keep on living."

"Dramatic."

Sunwoo squinted, visibly guessing what the newcomer blurred out while hiding his face.

"I took the wrong flash driver. It's still there. I got Haknyeon's presentation instead."

A silence followed his confession. The couple looked at him in disbelief, mouth open. Slowly, the red-haired facepalmed, and time found his usual pace back when Changmin fell on the ground, dying of laughter.

"You are…"

"Such an idiot!"

With their sentences completing each other, Sunwoo and Changmin started to joke, unable to hold their laugh back to the point it was hard for them to breathe. It took them nearly an hour to stop bursting into laughter every time Eric opened his mouth, even if they still had some convulsions when they looked at one another. The blonde sighed, ready to hide his tears in the tea Sunwoo offered him.

"I'm dead."

"I'm glad you're haunting us," Changmin pointed out. "We even got a gay ghost. The gayest, the better."

"Why can't Juyeon be gay too?" Eric whined, gesticulating with his close fists.

"You didn't ask though," Sunwoo snorted.

"How will I be able to look at him again? Even if he isn't in my course, nearly half the soccer team is."

Changmin grabbed some chips, sitting cross-legged near Sunwoo. They were always so close to each other, unable to stay away for too long despite what the older liked to pretend. Usually, he would have teased them, however, now, Eric was envious.

"You do something simple," the older started, getting his attention. "You open your lids, turn your head towards him and your eyes are going to do the job."

Unable to keep a straight face at the comment, Eric threw Sunwoo's neck pillow at the elder who avoided him with a laugh.

"I'll suffer from the worst embarrassment of my life and you're still mocking me," the blonde dramatically whined. His complaint seemed to pull a pout out of his friends' face.

"Eric."

Sunwoo looked at him seriously.

"We're laughing because of how dumb you are, but you had an easier option. Tomorrow, come with your presentation, and explain to your teacher that you didn't give the right one, get the one Felix gave back, and that's all."

"You should consider confessing to Juyeon, though," Changmin added with a sigh. "We all know he is a good guy. Maybe that won't go as bad as you think, but in all cases, it may be better than to torture yourself with your denial. It's our job, not yours!"

The younger looked at them with pitiful eyes, ready to jump in their arms. Changmin outstretched his arm to stop him but wasn't able to handle Eric's affection as the blonde nearly fell on them, crushing them with a soft laugh that seemed still nervous but free from the throat he had been trapped into.

*

If Changmin and their friend Hyungseo were the luckiest boys, Eric was a black cat. Which obviously meant his Monday would be a mess. He had woken up late, obviously. Not a little late, not during the thirty minutes where his alarm kept on ringing. Not an hour late. It was more like waking up at eleven in the morning, eyes puffy from the tears he had shared both on his friends and on his pillow when he had come back, after having fallen asleep at five after a huge existential crisis.

At first, he hadn't noticed the hour, still trying to process where he was. He didn't notice how long it was before his phone rang.

"Are you near the cafeteria?" He heard Sunwoo whisper to Changmin he was on the phone with the blonde.

"Mentally? Absolutely, ready to rest in peace."

"And what about physically, which would be a great start?"

"We ain't at this level yet, I still have to enter the boss room called: life."

His friend paused for a bit before laughing nervously. Eric opened a lazy eye, realizing his voice seemed hoarser than usual.

"Eric?" Sunwoo called him but, right when he was humming an answer, Changmin seemed to take the phone, his voice fluctuating from a nervous amusement to worry.

"Eric, move your ass and tell me you're at school. Please, don't say you've just woken up."

The blonde frowned and looked at the alarm on his bedside table. His blood went cold and his mouth dropped.

"Don't tell me—"

"That everyone is already aware of you having feelings for Juyeon? Most likely considering Chanhee just screamed in my messages right now."

His mind went numb in a second, his silent worrying his two friends.

"Eric?" He heard Sunwoo called him. From the low noise behind them, they had stepped aside to both talk to him on the speaker.

"Eric, just try to take a deep breath!" Changmin advised.

"TAKE A DEEP BREATH?!" He finally exploded in a shaky voice. "It literally feels like my insides are being ripped out! "

"Isn't it a bit dramatic?" The older pointed out.

"Oh, I don't know, did you already experience everyone learning about your feelings for the popular straight boy, all by the way of a stupid presentation full of hearts and cringe stuff while you're sleeping because you've cried all night?"

A small silence answered him before the older talked again.

"Sunwoo will take your classes for today. I'll come by with food since I'm not sure you want to be there anytime soon."

When they hung up, Eric noticed nearly fifty messages and missed calls coming from Felix, trying to assure if he was okay and apologizing if he had crossed a line. The Australian also seemed surprised since the blonde had said he had taken the flash drive back, but the latter had no strength to answer.

Crawling towards the bathroom, he only started to fully wake up from the numbness when the burning water attacked his naked skin. With it, a small sob escaped his lips. For sure, it wasn't the end of the world. Yet, he looked like an idiot and felt embarrassed. If Juyeon was kind, it wasn't everyone's case, which was scaring him a bit.

If Sunwoo and Changmin were used to roast him, they didn't say anything on that day, besides trying to comfort him, which was one of the things the older hardly knew how to do. However, his trials were enough for the blonde who spent his Monday curled up in bed in a new pair of pajamas, his eyes redder than before, and a huge box of tissues near his bed. Changmin had stayed with him, watching some Japanese animes and softly trying to change the mood. He had also made sure to take Eric's phone away and when Sunwoo arrived after his classes, the red-haired had shut the notifications. Without them, the blonde would have stayed all day being anxious over either opening or not the other's messages. Instead, the wise decision avoided him to see it, Sunwoo and Changmin creating a bubble for him. On that night, they even made him come with them so that he wouldn't sleep alone, his phone lost in the depths of Changmin's bag.

**_FELIX (3 missed calls, 34 messages)_ **

**_JACOB_ **

_Hello sweetheart, hope you're alright? Come to me if needed!_

**_JUYEON (17 missed calls)_ **

**_JUYEON_ **

_Eric?_

*

Successfully enough, his classes were cut short on Tuesday because of a sports competition implying the college's teams for two days, which meant the lectures had been exceptionally moved to welcome the supporters of other schools. Normally, Eric would have been the first one on the bench to support the team, since half the soccer players were in his class, like Felix and Sunwoo, yet he had totally forgotten the event with what happened.

Instead, he sat near the window he had vainly used to get another USB drive than the one he had looked for, near Changmin who was currently playing on his phone to a horror game, while the blonde was eating a handful of apricots.

"Are you going to eat all my snacks?" The older chuckled while stealing a fruit.

"I have nothing else to do," he grumbled with a pout, earning an amused look from his friend.

"How about coming with me to the matches this afternoon? Sunwoo would be happy if you dared to come back to your loud self."

Eric pouted even more.

"It has already been hard enough to avoid Juyeon, don't ask me to go on the field when it's exactly where he'll go."

Changmin snorted. After a day with a sad blonde boy who had cried all the tears his body could contain and more, he had succeeded to convince him people wouldn't mind what happened. Obviously, when Eric sat down at his table, he had heard a few laughs and whispers. A girl of his class had joked that, at least, boys weren't different from her and her friends who had fallen for the soccer player. Some idiots had tried to tease him, but he had been too invested in the loud music destroying his ears from his headphones to hear them. When he had bumped into Haknyeon, he had made sure to explain himself and had also presented his apologies to the teacher who had played the presentation, even though he hadn't said the whole truth. After all, he had broken a door and nearly broke his neck when falling from a window for the whole school to know how weak he was for Juyeon. Not his most charismatic day.

"We're fine here," he chatted as casually as he could. "At least, snow's pretty."

"We're in April."

"Doesn't make snow any less pretty."

The older rolled his eyes while the blonde stole his tumbler to drink a bit. With a frown, the stealer looked at him.

"Can you explain why your coffee tastes like apples?"

Changmin laughed at the skeptical pout of his friend, taking back the drinking cup.

"Maybe because it isn't coffee," he shrugged. "Apparently I drink too much caffeine."

"This isn't the only thing you're doing 'too much', believe me!"

"Someone is finding back his sense of humor!"

After ending their snack and a few minutes of Changmin's stretches, the boys were heading towards the fields where some matches were going to start. For two days, they would play with a few schools, as this year's host. From soccer to basketball and swimming, a lot of sports were displayed and everything was open to supporters.

"You know, you'll eventually have to talk with Juyeon anytime soon. He even sent you a dozen texts." the dancer thought as they were walking, after bumping into Chanhee who threw a knowing smile at Eric.

"It's not an obligation!"

"So you have an idea to avoid someone who is hanging out with our friends and my boyfriend until your graduation?"

Changmin looked at him with skeptical eyes.

"Yes. Can you hit me with a knife?"

"I believe the technical term is 'stab' and, no, I won't. I'm more into explosives."

Eric sighed in fake despair. He had succeeded to avoid the tall figure during the morning and had tried to keep his phone as silent as it could be besides opening his music application. When he had gotten the engine back from his friend, he had panicked when noticing the number of calls and messages increasing from the soccer player. If he should have answered him, he hadn't felt strong enough to do so without looking pathetic. If he could hide under a mountain of blankets and not see Juyeon for the rest of his life, he would be fine with it.

Near the soccer field, they met Jacob who seemed to have just hung up from a phone call. The exchanged student smiled tenderly at his younger friends, especially to Eric, and immediately went to them. Being a senior, he was also a part of the student council with Sangyeon, much to his boyfriend's despair who whined about the time the boys spent together, which never failed to make Eric chuckle. In fact, Eric had met Jacob because his boyfriend was Juyeon's best friend. Maybe it was because of his kind nature or maybe it was because of this same group of friends that the older had made sure he was alright by text, slightly more than others.

However, as the walked with him, Eric's anxiety raised. Especially when a loud boy ran towards them, wearing the uniform of the soccer team, his messy light-brown hair playing falling in small waves. He tensed in the second, which Changmin was quick to notice, but wasn't the only one as Hyunjae looked at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, Eric, I didn't know you were there!"

"Me neither." The younger laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He, who used to get more amused by his friends' couples than anything else, looked away when he noticed the older boys' intertwined hands. He also wanted this kind of affection, and the thought nearly made him pout.

"Are you staying for the match?"

Changmin looked at him with curious eyes, yet his poker face didn't reveal anything to the blonde who tried to seek his help.

"Hm, I don't know. I should, hm, eat something before because I'm craving some, hm, burger right now," he excused himself with a nervous chuckle that made Jacob raise an eyebrow.

"You're holding a bag of apricots, you know."

Near him, Changmin cleared his throat and took the fruits with an impeccable smile, as if nothing happened.

"It's mine! Sunwoo is making me eat more fruits than a monkey," he sighed before looking at the blonde. Behind the innocence of his look, the youngest knew he didn't agree with his decision to leave. "Go eat something before Sunwoo kills me for leaving your stomach empty."

With a soft smile, Eric nodded. He greeted the other two as Changmin pulled them towards the field, letting him sigh. His hands in his pockets, he tried to find the familiar red hair getting ready. Instinctively, his gaze also looked for a dark blue-haired boy and he felt a heartache burn his chest when he noticed Hyunjae approaching Juyeon, pointing towards where Eric was standing. His face lost all its blood when the jock looked up to meet his eyes. Even from afar, he could perceive his frown. Juyeon seemed to say something to his friend before moving forward, which made Eric gulp but also nearly run away, quickly diving into the buildings.

He didn't know if he dreamt or if he effectively heard his name from afar, nor if Sangyeon had taken him for a crazy man when he bumped into him, breathless.

"Where are you running like that?" The boy asked with raised eyebrows. He was holding a pack of water bottles.

"Currently saving my life, you know, a casual activity."

Sangyeon laughed at the comment.

"And you?" The younger looked with curiosity at the plastic box full of drinks.

"I need to give this to the basketball team. Their captain, Hyunjin, was too late to take them with him."

The blonde nodded with a pinched smile.

"I'll come with you.'

"Sure?"

"I've always preferred basketball to soccer anyway."

*

Eric had never kept his phone so close to him, always verifying if Changmin or Felix had sent him a text. In the end, he had stayed in the sports complex where the basketball matches occurred. Curled up on the top of the bleachers, he had lost himself a bit in what was happening before finding his phone more interesting, which hadn't missed getting Sangyeon's attention. The council president had come here with him to cheer on his little brother, after running around the whole school apparently.

Without stopping to look after Hangyul nor Hyungseo, who was also playing, the point of contact had joked about the bright screen near him.

"It looks like you're waiting for the biggest news of your life."

The tease made the youngest pout.

"I'm actually trying to avoid someone." He sighed, making Sangyeon smile a bit.

"I've guessed."

Eric looked at him with wide eyes like a small suricate, his blonde hair annoying his fluttering lids.

"How?"

"Do I look that stupid?"

"Actually, yes."

He laughed at the small punch in his shoulder, the other boy grimacing.

"Did anything happen? Do I have to grab someone by the collar?"

Under Sangyeon's warm gaze, Eric sighed and rested his head against the older shoulder while circling his legs closer to his body with his arms. Compared to the stocky guy, he knew he must be looking extremely tiny at this moment, in his huge hoodie and curled up against the senior.

Patiently, while observing the team play, he explained the whole situation to Sangyeon. From his feelings he had kept silent for a bit more than a year to the joke Felix made, not missing on the fact he felt too ashamed to talk to Juyeon. He acted as if the small visit he paid at night never existing, not wanting to get scold either. His senior listened to him carefully, not saying anything before the younger finished his rant with a dramatic whine. Eric felt his hand tousle his hair with affection, making him look up to notice the brotherly smile on the other's face.

"So you're ashamed that you've been exposed this way? I should have a small discussion with Felix, by the way."

"It's not only that…" Eric shrugged. "I know people can be mean and that worries me, but I mostly didn't want _him_ to know about it."

"Why though? Juyeon is a nice guy."

Eric looked at him with a painful sigh.

"Exactly. He would have apologized for being straight, would have made sure I was doing fine and taking my time before trying to stay friends. That's even worst because he is kind."

Sangyeon choked on his laugh, which surprised him.

"Who said Juyeon was straight?" He snorted.

"What?"

Sangyeon cleared his throat with an amused smile.

"Nothing, nothing. I will go now to organize everything for tomorrow if I don't want to stay there until midnight. The last time I did that, I heard some weird noises. You can stay there if you want, the matches here end after the soccer ones, so the players should be gone."

Eric blushed at the comment, trying not to react at the senior's wink. Sangyeon left him all alone, sad and thinking, despite thanking him for the advice. Bundled up in his sweatshirt, he put his large hood to cover his head and focused again on the match, excitedly clapping when he noticed Hangyul and Hyungseo were on the winning team.

*

Just like Sangyeon said, the matches ended pretty late. Tired from his nights of crying instead of sleeping, Eric was dozing a bit when the other supporters started to leave. The noise of the door made him open his eyes before orientating himself. He hadn't been able to focus on everything but he had understood the male team had been pretty good. The girls would play the next day and Eric thought that he might come to support them as well. He had never thought of joining them before spending a whole afternoon looking at them play, if he was honest, and was curious about the level of the whole team.

Rubbing his tired lids, he waited for everyone to leave before taking his bag and standing up.

"It's hard to talk to you, recently."

Eric jumped in fear when he heard a voice coming from the lower part of the bleacher, where he thought no one was there anymore. His scream brought a chuckle out of the man leaning against the barrier separating the rows from the pitch and he gulped as he looked down to meet Juyeon's gaze.

"You're always such a scaredy-cat," the boy joked softly.

Eric gulped. The blue-haired had switched his sports uniform for some casual jeans and shirt and, with his hair pulled back from his face, he looked even more stunning, which made the youngest's chest tightened. He knew it would be vain to escape like he had done before the match of soccer, especially since the school might be nearly empty at this hour, from what Sangyeon had said. Moreover, the tallest was also faster than him and could catch him up easily. Yet, nothing ventured nothing gained.

"I'm going to pretend I got a super important text and go somewhere that's not here, so…bye! It was nice seeing you!"

With an awkward smile, he waved at the other and walked towards the door, his heart aching in his chest. He felt so nervous looking in his eyes that he had still tried to run away like a kid. His friends were right about him being a coward.

Behind him, he heard a sigh.

"Eric."

Juyeon's voice felt oddly annoyed compared to all the times he had heard him speak, and that alone made him freeze. He shyly turned his head towards the soccer player who was looking at him, his brows furrowed and his gaze unfathomable.

"What do I have to do to be able to talk to you? What's the next step, buying a guard dog?"

"That'd not be the dumbest idea I've had these days, you would be surprised."

He tried to ignore the glare and sighed before sitting down on the bench he had just left.

"Why have you been avoiding me so much?" Juyeon's voice softened a bit.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I don't know, you're not answering any call or message and even your friends act as if you've never existed in front of me."

Eric mentally noted to thank Sunwoo, Changmin, and Felix later for their loyalty.

"How did you know I was there?" Eric muttered, eyes looking down. Fidgeting the end of his sleeves, he gulped.

"Sangyeon came to find me at the end of my match. I see that soccer still isn't your cup of tea."

Obviously.

"I shouldn't have trusted him," Eric pouted and he heard Juyeon chuckle.

Slowly, when the silence came back between them, the blue-haired boy climbed the stairs towards him. He didn't rush his move, as if he was trying not to scare him. Even though the blonde couldn't bring himself to look up, he appreciated the softness behind every thought Juyeon had towards him, even if it could make his heartache grow. He let him sit by his side, still quiet.

There was something unsure in the air and he couldn't bring himself to be more at ease, even when knowing the other wouldn't hurt him, not when he was so close, not after the embarrassment of his texts revealed.

A few minutes passed by before Juyeon finally spoke in a modulated, soft voice.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Eric shrugged, trying to find his words. Next to him, the soccer player seemed comforting, which only tightened the ball of anxiety in his throat.

"I'm sorry I've been so long to notice," Juyeon finally sighed.

"No need to apologize," the blonde scoffed with a tired, choked voice. "Or apologize for the half part of the school that had fallen for you."

His comment seemed to surprise the player who coughed, embarrassed. Taking a deep breath, Eric finally spoke louder, his eyes still not leaving the ground.

"The whole school knows you and half of it had, has, or will have a crush on you," he shrugged with a sigh. "At first, it intimidated me. Now, you know that I'm gay, and people haven't always been nice to me because of that. So your popularity scared me when Felix's presentation came out."

He heard Juyeon groaned a bit when he talked about the mean comments, and that sadly stretched a bit his lips.

"Changmin has told me so many times to confess, at least to be honest for the friendship you had towards me, but I've not been able to do it."

"Why..?" He would have sworn the player's voice got a bit hesitant when asking.

"Because I didn't want you to feel bad when you'd be there with your possible girlfriend. I didn't want to have your pity. And I was scared nothing would ever be the same after that."

A sigh escaped Juyeon's lips. The silence grew back again before the player chuckled.

"Sangyeon told me you were afraid of me being nice because you thought I was a straight jock."

The blonde nervously looked up for a second, meeting Juyeon's teasing gaze who was sparkling towards him. A burn spread across his cheeks and he looked away, gulping.

"Eric, look at me."

The voice was so soft, so enchanting, so tempting that he nearly gave in, shivering.

"Please…"

With Juyeon pleading him to turn around, taking care of not crossing any of his boundaries, Eric finally dived into his gaze, a fire warming up his body. His eyes were like a night of a black moon, an infinity of black sparkling, reassuring yet impressive, soft yet mischievous. He was going to speak but Juyeon didn't let him the time.

"When you were scared enough to avoid me…" the boy started with curiosity. "Have you ever consider for more than a second that I could feel the same?"

His mouth dropped open at the question, yet he closed it only to shake his head shyly. His whole body was combusting when Juyeon's hand brushed against his, softly moving to interlace them under Eric's stare, still careful of acting slow.

"Actually, it might have been less than a second," Eric murmured nervously, earning an amused chuckled near him.

"You're always talking about my past-girlfriends but I should remind you that bisexuality exists," Juyeon teased softly. Eric blushed, looking at him with surprised eyes. "Believe me, Hyunjae and Jacob had to endure my whole existential crisis when I was coming to terms with it. They have a lot of fun stories about it."

He scoffed nervously, scanning Juyeon's eyes.

"Since— mh, when? If it's not too much to ask."

"I realized it when I entered college," Juyeon shrugged before looking at him with serious eyes, his voice soft, like a murmur. "But you're the first boy I've had real feelings for."

He nearly choked when hearing the words he had only imagined in his dreams, not believing his ears. He felt like melting on the spot. Juyeon seemed pretty amused even if a bit of nervousness seemed to shine in his words, unusual for him.

"From a certain point, you've never let me approach you long enough to confess so I thought it wasn't the right time, or that you weren't interested."

"That's— hm, false," Eric muttered.

"I know, now, and not thanks to you," the player teased tenderly, making him blush even more. "I've made sure most people wouldn't annoy you with it. When I heard what happened, I tried to call you, but you weren't answering so I went to see Felix, to have an explanation. To know if everything was true," he added with a glance.

Mentally, Eric removed Felix from the list of the people he needed to thank for their loyalty.

"I thought you would come to the match to support Sunwoo but I'm apparently scary enough to let you miss that!"

Juyeon scoffed and Eric pouted. Looking at each other, they exchanged a soft knowing smile, pieces finally coming together. At this instant, Eric felt like a dumbass, but a happy one. It was too much, too intense for him to register everything, but he was too focus on Juyeon to care, all his fears vanishing.

"I'm feeling a bit dumb I didn't confess," he admitted with a chuckle.

"Me too," Juyeon nodded. "I should have talked earlier."

Looking at their hands holding each other, the player took a deep breath.

"If my 'popularity' scares you this much, I can understand you refusing or if you would want to keep it a secret… But I would want to properly ask you to be my boyfriend, Eric Sohn…"

If his heart had been racing until then, he had just stopped in his chest, exploding in a million warm butterflies wings. He tried hard not to let his eyes become watery, but everything was a fail and he just chuckled as he wiped a happy tear of his face, nodding.

"No more secrets," his chocked voice made the other smile tenderly, caressing the palm of his hand with his thumb. "Obviously I want to be your boyfriend, idiot."

He laughed softly when Juyeon pulled him closer into a hug, placing his head in the crook of the tallest's neck.

"I've been wishing for you to say that for so long, you have no idea," the blue-haired whispered, gently kissing the top of his head.

They stayed there a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of the soft, innocent, embrace they had craved for. Eric felt so calm with the other's fragrance reassuring all his disoriented senses, resting against him for a bit before looking at him. Their faces were close enough when he moved, which caused their cheeks to turn into a soft shade of pink, eyes meeting each other in a sweet contact.

"I really want to kiss you right now," Juyeon smiled a bit, biting his lip to hold its growth back.

"Are you really asking?"

"Consent is sexy!"

With a laugh, Eric playfully shook his head.

"I can't believe you're perfect, even for that."

Sitting on the bleachers of an emptied complex, Juyeon's arms around his waist as his hands were losing themselves in the blue hair, Eric felt like all his pain had been worthy. Nothing could matter more than the feeling of Juyeon's lips against his, more than the taste of their tongues dancing with each other, not even the scream of an excited Sunwoo who made them part away with red cheeks. Near the huge doors, Changmin was standing with his arms crossed, the red-haired happily jumping next to him.

"Finally!" Sunwoo shouted.

"I don't like saying 'I told you so', but I told you so, Eric," Changmin teased. "Well, actually, you were right about that, I like saying it. I told you so, dumbass."

Eric chuckled, protected by Juyeon who kept a hand around his waist even when moving back. Changmin shook his head with a soft laugh.

"Sorry, I'm not reacting to this news with appropriate excitement, I'm hungry. So…" He pointed at the two interlaced boys on the bleachers. "You two, young people full of hormones. Burgers. Now. I will scream and threaten to kill Juyeon if he hurts Eric later."

The boys chuckled, standing up to join the couple downstairs. Instinctively, Eric's fingers intertwined themselves with Juyeon's, under Changmin's amused gaze.

"Oh, and I also need to tell Juyeon about how his new boyfriend is a coward, to the point he has broken into the school at night, just to avoid the presentation to be out, but failed miserably to find the good memory drive." 

Eric's cheeks burned under Juyeon's surprised stare, pouting when the three boys burst out in laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> So... How did it go? Hope you liked it!  
> Thank you so much for reading this fic!
> 
> Don't hesitate to find me on twitter if you want, I have a social media au coming about the boyz <3 ( @ topazionmoon)
> 
> Love you, have a nice day/night!


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